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Indonesia demands security guarantees for UN peacekeepers in Lebanon

Jakarta (ANTARA) – Indonesia has demanded security guarantees for all peacekeeping personnel following an attack that killed three Indonesian soldiers serving in Lebanon.”There must be security guarantees for peacekeepers because they are maintaining peace. They are peacekeeping, not peacemaking,” Foreign Minister Sugiono said in Tangerang on Saturday.He stressed the fundamental difference between peacekeeping and peacemaking missions, noting that UN troops are not combatants.According to Sugiono, Indonesian personnel assigned to the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) are neither equipped nor mandated to conduct combat operations.”They are not equipped for peacemaking. Their training and equipment are meant to maintain peace,” he said.Indonesia emphasized that the situation in Lebanon should not endanger UN personnel, and security guarantees for peacekeepers are non-negotiable.Sugiono also urged the United Nations to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of field safety procedures.”We ask the UN to reevaluate the safety of peacekeepers wherever they are deployed, especially in UNIFIL,” he said.Previously, Indonesia had requested an extraordinary UN Security Council meeting to address the attacks.The move followed the deaths of three Indonesian soldiers — Captain Zulmi Aditya Iskandar, First Sergeant Muhammad Nur Ichwan, and Private First Class Fahrizal Rhomadhon — while serving in the UN mission.Indonesia has strongly condemned the attacks and called for a thorough investigation into the incidents.